Diesel fuel



- Patented Aug.8,1939

PATENT OFFICE DIESEL FUEL Bernard H. Shoemaker and Howard R. Batchelder, Hammond, Ind., assignors to Standard Oil Company, Chicago, Ill.,a'corporation of Indiana No Drawing. Application June 30, 1937,

Serial No. 151,180

8 Claim This invention relates to improvements in high speed Dieselengine fuels.

In the operation of Diesel engines in which the liquid fuel is. injecteddirectlyinto the cylinder, 3 the interval between the time the fuel isinjected and the time the fuel becomes ignited is called the "delayperiod or ignition lag. Better engine performance is obtained when thedelay period or ignition lag is of short duration since the froughm nessof runnin ,.or the Diesel knock, is directly proportional to theduration of the delay period. While it is desirable that fuels forDiesel engines in general'have good ignition characteristics, it isparticularly important that fuels for high speed 10 Diesel engines havegood ignition characteristics because of the extreme conditions underwhich they operate. The roughness of running and/or Diesel knock is mostpronounced in the high speed Diesel engines, and for this reason fuelsadapted 20 for use in such engines should possess good ignitioncharacteristics.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a fuelhaving improved ignition characteristics for high speed Diesel engines.

We have found that the ignition characteristics of high speed Dieselengine fuel oils may be materially improved by adding to such fuels0.01% to 5%, and preferably 0.01% to 1%, of the reaction product of amercaptan with a nitrogen oxy- 30 chloride, or a nitrogen sulfochloride.These reaction products have the general formula RSNXm and may beobtained according to the following reaction:

RSH+NXmCl=RSNXm+HCl in which R is an alkyl or aryl group, X is sulfurand/0r oxygen and m is a whole number having a value not greater than 2.The alkyl thionitrites and alkyl thionitrates may be obtained by themethods described by Rheinbold et al. in the to Journal fiir PraktlscheChemie -vol. 130, 133-46 (1931) and by Hans Lecher et al. in Berichteder Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft, vol, 5913, 1314-1321 (1926).

Specific examples of the above reaction product are:

Butyl thionitrite C4H9SNO Amyl thionitrite CsHuSNO Amyl thionitrateCaHuSNO: Propyl thionitrite CsH'ISNO Butyl dithionitrite C4H9SNS Butyltrithionitrate C4H9SNS2 a. Benzyl thionitrite CoHsSNO Benzyl'dlthionitrlte CaI-IaSNS The term "high speed Diesel engine fuel oil asused herein is a Diesel fuel oil having a 10% distillation point notover 460 F. and preferably not over 400 F., a 90% distillation point notover 675 F. and preferably not over 450 F. and an end 5 distillationpoint not over 720 F. and preferably not over 500 F.

Having described certain specific examples of the type of compounds wemay use, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, butit is desired to claim broadly all the. inherent novelty in theinvention.

We claim:

1. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a fuel oil and a smallamount of an organic compound having the general formula RSNXm in whichR is a radical selected from the group consisting of alkyl and arylradicals, X is an element selected from the group consisting of oxygenand sulfur and m is a whole number having a a value not greater than 2.

2. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a fuel oil and 0.01% to 5%of an alkyl thionitrite.

3. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a fuel oil and 0.01% to 5%of an aryl thionitrite.

4. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a fuel oil having aninitial distillation point not over 460 F., a 90% distillation point notover 675 F. and an end distillation point not over 720 F. and a smallamount of an organic com- 30 pound having the general formula RSNXm inwhlch'R is a radical selected from the group consisting of alkyl andaryl radicals, X is an element selected from the group consisting ofoxygen and surfur and m is a whole number having a value not greaterthan 2.

5. A high speed Diesel engine fuel compris ng a mineral oil having aninitial boiling point less than 460 F. and an end point less than 720 F;and 0.01% to 5% of an alkyl dithionitrite.

6. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a mineral oil having aninitial boiling point less than 460 F. and an end point less' than 720F. and 0.01% to 5% of an aryl dithionitrite.

7. A high speed Diesel enginefuel comprising a fuel oil and 0.01% to 5%of an alkyl thionitrate.

8. A high speed Diesel engine fuel comprising a fuel oil and 0.01% to 5%of an aryl thionitrate.

BERNARD H. SHOEMAKER. HOWARD R. BATCHELDER.

